No, a franchise isn't necessarily a bad thing. As long as the primary goal of the franchise is the betterment of the art, and not to be a money factory.

I won't pass judgement on 'Personal Best', but their website sure does seem to spend a lot more time talking about money (and setting up new franchises) than what their program actually has to offer to aspiring martial artists who want to learn.

There are some schools here for the Greater Taunton area, not too sure what some of them teach though, but the contact details are on the above page. Some other stuff there too you may not be interested in, such as TKD in Raynham.